Attachable and removable cap for merchandise containers



Sept. 16, 1924.

W. A. EVALENKO ATTACHABLE AND REMOVABLE CAP FOR MERCHANDISE CONTAINERSFiled Oct. 14 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l fizz/6M 4. fiaza/wra.

BY @WA. zw,

ATTORNEY.

Sept. 16 1924. 1,508,878

W. A. EVALENKO ATTACHABLE AND REMOVABLE CAP FOR MERCHANDISE CONTAINERSFiled Oct. 14 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OINVENTOR %4/ 4M IQ fiezz-w/ra I BY1; @MM/a ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 16, 1924.

OF F ICE.

WILLIAM A. EVALENKO, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

ATTACH-ABLE REMOVABLE CAP FOR MERCHANDISE CONTAINERS.

Application filed October 1.4, 1921. Serial No. 507,712.

- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. EVA- LENKO, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of New York city, in the county 6 of New York andState of New York, have 1 boxes are usually not emptied at once but haveportions of their contents poured therefrom from time-to time asrequired for use.

One purpose of my invention is to provide a cap having a hinged lid andadapted to be detachably applied to the corner or other portion of thetop of the box whereat an opening has been formed, for convenientlypermitting the discharge from time to time of the contents of the boxand to protect the contents of the box from dust, damp air and the like.It is quite usual for persons having cereal boxes to cut open the top ofthe box for the purpose of pouring part of the contents therefrom andthen lack convenient means for again closing the box until the next timeof use. My invention provides a cap which when once applied to a box mayremain thereon until the entire contents of the box have beendischarged, in the meantime protecting the food products from dust andthe like, and after the box employing my cap has become emptied, the capwill be removed therefrom and applied on a new box for use as before.

The cap of my invention comprises a suitable frame for application tothe box and having a discharge opening, means for securing it inposition on the box above a hole previously formed therein and a hingedi lid for opening and closing the discharge opening of the cap and saidhole in the box, said lid being preferably held in normal closedposition by a spring. The cap may be of various shapes to suit theconditions of its use on the corner of a box or on the whole width of abox or in the center of the top of a box, but will always possess abodybe conveniently secured to the material of the box.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed descriptionhereiniafter presented, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper end portion of a box equippedwith the cap of my invention, the box shown being of the ordinary typefor holding cereals;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the ca de tached from the box and with aknifelade I sometimes provide in the cap for cutting a hole in the box,shown in its outwardly extended or unfolded position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a portion of the box taken on thedotted line 33 of Fig. 4 and illustrating the cap of my invention inposition and showing the under surface thereof;

, Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a portion-of the box with the capof my invention in position thereon taken on the dotted line 44 of Fig.3;

Fig. 5 is a top view of a corner portion of a box equipped with amodified form of the cap of my invention;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through a portion of the box shown inFig. 5 and taken on the dotted line 66 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section throu h the same taken on the dotted line77 of Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the top portion of a box ofelongated cross-section equipped at one end of its top with' a capembodying my invention, the cap shown in Fig. 8 differing from thatshown in- Fig. 1 by the addition thereto of -a third depending flange sothat the frame of the cap may embrace one end and two sides of the upperend of the box;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the upper portionof a cylindricalboxequipped with a cap embodying my invention;

Fig.- 10 is a plan view-of the top of a box having the cap of myinvention applied centrally thereon, as distinguished from said capbeing applied at an outer edge or outer edges of the box;-

Fig. 11 is a vertical section, partly broken away and on a larger scale,through the box andnap presented in Fig. 10, the section be- '-ing takenOn the dotted line 1111 of Fig.

FigF-IQ is a vertical transverse section,

partly broken away, through the same, taken on the dotted line 1212 ofFig. 10, and

Fig. 13 is a plan view of a portion of the top of the box.

In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, 10 designates theupper portion of a rectangular pasteboard box of the character usuallyemployed for holding cereals, the boxes of this type being sealed bylabels and the like at the factory and reaching the consumer in thatcondition. My invention provides a cap to be applied over a hole formedin the top of this box by the consumer, for protecting the contents ofthe box and enabling the convenient discharge from time to time of suchcontents from the box. The box 10 may have a hole 11 cut in one cornerportion of the top thereof to be used for the discharge of the cerealsor other merchandise. The cap of my invention comprises a rectangularbody frame 12 having an opening 13 therein preferably of rectangularoutline and disposed directly above the opening 11 in the top of thebox. The frame 12, in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4inclusive, is formed with deendin right angle flanges 14, 15 to emrace te sides of the corner portion of the box 10, as shown in Fig. 1. Theframe 12, as means for opening and closing the opening 13therein, isequipped with a hinged lid 16 having a convenient operating handle orthumb-piece 17 and a spring 18, at the hinge of the lid, for normallyholding, the lid in closed position. The inner end bar 19 of the frame12 is formed at its lower side with return bent lips 20 extendingrearwardly from the rear edge of the opening 13 in said frame, and theselips, 20 are employed as clips to receive between them and the aforesaidbar 19 the material of the top of the box 10, as shown in Fig. 4:, saidlips or clips thereby serving to secure the inner or rear end of theframe 12 to the box-top. The lips or clips 20 are preferably integralwith the rear bar 19 and are formed from the material removed from thecap to form the opening 13 therein, whereby the provision of the clips20 does not add to the expense of production so far as the materialemployed in the clips is concerned.

The front edge of the frame. 12 is secured to the vertical frontthickness of the material of the box 10, the hole or opening 11 in thetop of the box being extended outwardly to the front wall of the box, aswell as to the adjacent side wall thereof. The means illhstrated inFigs. 1 to 4; inclusive for securing thevfront edge of the cap to thefront edge of the box, resides in a spring clamp 23 formed of a strip ofmetal folded near its middle portion to form a clamping member 21' andan operating member 22. At its outer or fold-end. the clamp 23 ispivotally held on arivet or pin 24:, whence naoaere the members 21, 22of said clamp extend on substantially parallel lines as shown in Fig. 3,the member 21being adapted to impinge against the inner front wall ofthe box 10, as shown in Fig.3, and the member 22 being adapted to becaught behind a depending lug 25 for securing it in flexed conditionwith the member 21 firmly pressing against the inner front wall of thebox. The member 22 of the clamp 23 is provided on its free end with alaterally extending lip 26, which I utilize in either freeing the capfrom the box or securing the cap in position thereon. When the cap isfirst applied to tlre box, the clamp 22 will be free of the lug 25 andmay be in the position shown in Fig? 2, and when the cap is applied tothe corner of the box, I raise the lid 16 and then with a finger, turnthe clamp 23 toward the front of the box and press on the lip 26 todeflect the member 22 downwardly to slip under the lug 25 and then movesaid member upwardly or allow it to spring upwardly behind said lug 25,to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, whereby the member 21 of theclamp 23 is caused to bind the front of the box between itself and theflange 1e and the member 22 is held in looking position by the lug 25with the result of securing the cap in, position. The lip- 26 providedon the member 22 is for convenience in the manual manipulation of saidmember from one side to the other of the lug 25. When it is desired toremove the cap from the box. the lid 16 is opened and then with a fingerT push downwardly against the lip 26 to release the member 22 of theclamp 23 from the lug 25, and thereupon the clamp 23 will move or bemoved outwardly from the inner front wall of the box and permit thefront portion of the cap to be lifted upwardly from the box, and

thereupon a slight pull on the cap will relieve the clips 20 from theportion of the box-top at the rear of the cap, the cap being thus leftfree to be applied to a fresh box.

I preferably provide the rear bar 19 of the cap frame 12 with aprojecting dart 27 for use in scratching a line on the top of the boxwhereat the rear end of the opening 11 in said top should be cut, thedistance between the dart 27 and the front end of the frame 12 definingthe length of opening necessary. The dart 27 is of'considerableconvenience because with the frame 12 tilted downwardly along its inneredge and the dart 27 engaged with the top of the box and the inner endoftheflange 14; with the front 7 as a convenience in scratching on the topof the box a line indicating the position for the inner side of theopening 11. At the pouring position.

outer side of said opening 11 and at the front edge thereof said openingextends to the vertical corner walls of the box.

It may not always be convenient for a householder to find a tool forcutting the opening 11 in the top of the box 10, and hence I preferablyequi the cap with a pivoted blade 29 arranged to be folded below therear bar 19 of the frame 12, as indicated in Fig. 3, and to be extendedoutwardly, as indicated in Fig. 2, so as-to be used as a means forcutting the hole 11 in the box 10, the frame 12 at such time serving asa handle for the blade 29. I do not limit my invention to the presenceof the blade 29, but for convenience I consider it desirable that thecap be equipped with said blade.

In applying the cap to position on the box 10 it will first be necessaryto cut the hole 11 in the box and then apply the cap over said hole andto the position shown in Fig. 1, the frame- 12 being first secured atits rear edge by the clips 20 and then at its front edge by the springclamp 23. Thereafter the contents of the box may be discharged throughthe opening 11 in the box and the opening 13 in thecap by turning thelid- 16 upwardly and tilting the box to a The cap will remain on the box10 as long as may be desired. After the box 10 has been emptied the capwill be removed and applied upon a fresh box, and this course will befollowed whenever necessary, it being intended that the cap shall be ofdurable character and adapted for continued use upon the boxes, oneafter another, for a considerable period. The lid 16 protects thecontents of the box from the entrance of dust and the like and thespring 18 keeps said lid normally closed.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 I illustrate a modification of the cap, but mainlyin respect to the means for securing the front edge of the body frameagainst the inner front wall of the box. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 showing amodification, I number the cap frame 30, the lid 31, the front flange32, and the side flange 33. The rear bar 34 of the frame 30 is securedto the material of the box-top in rear of the discharge opening thereinby means of the return lips or clips 35 which correspond with the clips20 of Fig. 2. The front bar 36 of the'frame 30 has upon its lower side ahorizontal seat or flange 37 held to the underside of the bar 36 by avertical flange 38 whose outer face is inclined or of wedge-shape, asshown by dotted lines in Fig. 6. The flanges 37, 38 form a guide for aslidable wedge-plate 39 which is seated upon the flange 37 and has adepending -flange 10 to engage the front wall of the box, as shown inFig. 7. The plate 39 has an upwardl extending thumb-piece 41 arrangedwit in an inclined slot 42 in the bar 36, as shown in Fig. 5. When thecap has been" applied to position at its rear end and it is desired tosecure the front edge of the same to the front wall of the box 10,

the thumb-piece 41 will be manually pressed against to slide the plate39 toward the narrower ends of the flange 37, and this will have theeffect of binding the flange 40 against the inner front wall of the boxand the. inneredge of the plate 39 against the inclined flange 38connected with said flange 37. When it is desired to detach the cap fromthe box, pressure will be applied to the thumb-piece 41 to move theplate 39 toward the wider end of the flange 37, and this will permit theflange 40 on said plate to release its grip against the front wall ofthe box. In the construction shown in Figs..

5, 6 and 7 I omit the knife-blade 29 and substitute the wedge clampingdevices described for the spring clamping devices 23 shown in Figs. ,2and 3, and in other respects the cap shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 issubstan tially the same as the cap shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

The construction shown in Fig. 8 differs from the construction shown inFig. 1 only in the provision of a third depending flange 50 in additionto the flanges 14, 15 of Fig. 1 so as to adapt the cap for boxes ofoblong cross-section, the three flanges 50, 14, 15 being adapted toengage the two sides and front end of the box. The additional flange 50is not required absolutely, as will be understood on reference to Fig.1, but for a box 51 of the type shown in Fig. 8 I deem it preferable toadd the flange 50 to the cal) structure shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 9 I illustrate a cylindrical pasteboard box 52 with the cap ofmy invention thereon. The cap shown in Fig. 9 compr ses the usual frame53 and lid 54: corresponding with the frame 12 and lid 16 of Fig. 1, andthe cap shown in Fig. 9 will also be equipped on the underside of itsrear end with the clips 20 and at its front end with the clamp 23embraced in Figs. 1 to a inclusive. The difference between the cap shownin Fig. 9 and that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive resides in theomission of the side flange 15 of i Fig. 1 and in shaping the forwardflange to engage the arcuate surface of the slde of the box 52. In thisinstance instead of employ.- ing the flange 14: of Fig. 1 I employ aforward flange composed of three depend ng segmental members 55, thesemembers belng adapted to engage the outer side wall of terial and welladapted to receive the cap of my invention.

In Fig. 10 I show the cap of my invention applied upon the center of thetop of an oblong paste-board box 56, the cap shown in Fig. 10 beingidentical with that shown in Fig. 1 with the exception that I'omit fromthe body frame thereof the depending flanges 14, 15, said flanges notbeing being neces-. sary or permissible when the cap is to be appliedupon the center of the top of the box. Since Fig. 10 illustratessomethin of a modification of the structure shown in ig.

1, I number the body frame of the cap 57 and the hinged lid 58. Theframe 57 has no downwardly depending flanges, but its rear bar 59 isequipped with clips 60 corresponding exactly with the clips 20 of Figs.1 to 4 inclusive.

At its forwardportion the frame 57 is provided on its lower side with apivoted clamp 61 formed from a thin strip of metal folded overlongitudinally to create, transversely considered, a spring loopwhose-upper member 62 is free at one edge and which, when pressed belowthe material of the top of the box, serves to clamp the .01- wardportion of the frame 57 in position. The clamp 61 is equipped at itsfree end with a lip 63 for convenience in manipulating the same. Inapplying the cap shown in Figs. 10, 11, 12 to the box,-the clips 60 areforced under the material of the box at the rear end of the opening 64therein, the same as the lips 20 are utilized in the construction shownin F igsI 1 to a inclusive, and thereafter the clamp 61 havingpreviously been turned below the lid 58, the frame 57 is pressed downagainst the top of the box and, the lid 58 having been opened, the clamp61 by the pressure of the finger may be turned in an outwardly directionbelow the forward portion of the plate or frame 57 and the material ofthe box lid adjacent thereto, said clamp then servingto press saidmaterial upwardly against the front bar of the plate or frame 57 andsecuring the forward end of the said frame in position; said clamp thentaking the position shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. Any suitable form ofclamp or catch 61 may be made use of, the only requirement being thatthe front portion of the plate or frame 57 be temporarily held down uponthe top of the box. The cap shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 may betransferred from one box to another, said cap being intended forrepeated use on boxes as they successively become empty. I prefer theconstructions shown in Figs. 1 to 9 inclusive, because, among otherreasons, of the eater convenience they present in permittmg thedischarge of the contents from the boxes to which they may be applied.

In all the constructions shown there is a metal plate or frame to lieflat against the rea ers box-top and having anopening therein to alignwith a discharge opening or hole the consumer will form in the box-top,and said plate carries the lid and also the means for clamping the plateto the material of the box, the whole being a self contained unitadapted for repeated application and use, and the clamping members beingadapted for insertion within the hole in the box and to engage thematerial of the box adjacent thereto for holding the plate or frame downagainst the flat top of the box.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In combination with a pasteboard box of the character de; :ribedhaving sides and a -fixed top and in which top at a convenient locationfor pouring from the box is formed a discharge hole, leaving the otherportion of the top intact and rigid with said sides, an attachable andremovable cap applied against said top over and surrounding said holecomprising a plate having an opening therein aligned with said hole, alid on and carried by said plate normally closing the opening thereinand the hole in said top, and clamping members carried by said plate andextending downwardly through said hole for r igaging the material of thebox at the sides of said hole and removably securing the platestationary on said top, one of said clamping members being a lipintegral with said plate and bent outwardly from said opening and belowthe plate and to be slipped below the material of the box-top and bindthe same against said plate.

2. In combination with a box of the character described having adischarge hole formed in the top thereof, an attachable and removablecap applied against said top over said hole comprising a plate having anopening therein aligned with said hole, a lid on and carried by saidplate for normally closing the. opening therein and the hole in the boxand clamping members carried by said plate at opposite sides of theopening therein for removably attaching said plate to the material ofthe box at opposite sides of the hole therein, the clamping member atone side of said. opening being bent outwardly from said opening andbelow the plate to be slipped below the material of the box-top and bindthe same against said plate, and the clamping member at the other sideof said opening being adapted for manual operation after the plate hasbeen positioned against said box-top.

3. In combination with a box of the character described having avertical side and a discharge hole formed in its top adjacent thereto,an attachable and removable cap applied against said top over said holeand.

having a depending positioning flange engaging said side, said capcomprising a plate hole and at its outer edge said flange, a lid plateto be slipped below the material of the on and carried by said plate fornormally box-top and bind the same against said plate, closing theopening therein and. the hole in and the clampin member at the otherside the box-top, and clamping members carried of said opening% eingadapted for manual 6 by said plate at opposite sides of theopenoperation and to bind the material of the 1 ing therein forremovably attaolling said box-side against said flange. plate to thematerial of the box at opposite Signed at New York city, in the countyof sides of the hole therein, the clamping'mem- New York and State ofNew York, this 13th her at one side of said opening being bent day ofOctober A. D. 1921.

10 outwardly from said opening and below said WILLIAM A. EVALENKO.

